He returned to government in 2006 as Vice-Minister of Economy, a role in which he courted controversy. He was accused of using his political influence to benefit Unipol in a bank takeover, although he was cleared of any illegal activity.[2] He also hit the headlines in this role when he described the country's debt as "a disaster".[3] One of his final acts in this role was to publish the tax details of every Italian citizen for 2005 in a move he described as 'an act of transparency, of democracy, similar to what happens elsewhere in the world'.[4]